


At an Impasse

by Blurble



Category: Aveyond
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-12-01
Updated: 2015-12-01
Packaged: 2018-05-04 08:21:23
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,375
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5327219
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Blurble/pseuds/Blurble
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Mel has issues but that doesn't mean she needs to deal with them.</p>
            </blockquote>





	At an Impasse

The rock monster had whalloped him and his arm had gone back at a funny angle and now he was sitting against a tree, wearing a makeshift sling and waiting for Yvette to get back from her short trip to Shoau Lei to get some healing items.  
  
Well, hypothetically short trip. Technically Yvette could get back to town faster than any of them- she'd just fly there and fly back ,whereas they would've had to climb cliffs and trek along twisting mountain trails.   
  
But.  
  
The familiar was kind of a, well, birdbrain. She had a tendency to get distracted by the nearest shiny thing, and by this point there was no longer any doubt that distracted she had been. She was probably off having an excited conversation with a mountain troll or something, because she found his bad breath and enormous muscles "Exciting". It had been nearly eight hours now, and the pieces of meat that Edward had eaten immediately after the battle were just not enough to repair the damage.  
  
Well, at least he wasn't screaming in agony anymore. He was grateful that he had blanked out in the middle of the battle, because even after having a good 100 health points shoved down his throat (along with a cassea leaf, and wow, did that leave a  _bad_  aftertaste) regaining consciousness had been extraordinarily painful.  
  
He sighed, trying to rub some feeling back into his legs, which were beginning to go numb. Shifting position with only one hand was too troublesome.   
  
Only the very slight sound of a twig cracking alerted him to Mel's presence. He looked up, and she looked down, and...  
  
"What?" He said, when the silence had stretched on and on and he couldn't take it anymore.  
  
"I was-" She said. "I- Um. Are you okay?"  
  
"No," he said, shortly.  
  
"Oh." She said.  
  
A pause. "Good. You moron."  
  
He had to smile at that, if only because she'd managed to infuse those three words with what would have taken him a paragraph to express.   
  
"You still haven't forgiven me," he said.  
  
She bristled at that. "I'm over it already."  
  
"No you're not."  
  
"I don't  _care_  anymore, Edward, it's not that difficult to understand! You're married to Lydia instead of me-"  
  
"We're not married anymore, she annulled it and if she hadn't I would have-"  
  
"That's besides the point, but it doesn't matter because I don't  _care_ -"  
  
"Oh that's just a giant lie, you left the wedding and then left the  _continent_  without even telling me."   
  
And he'd been angry, he'd been furious, but somehow it hadn't been as bad as when he'd rejoined her and she'd simply let him, talked to him like nothing had happened but with her eyes shuttered against him. And maybe he was provoking her now. And maybe he was provoking her because she was standing there and _looking_  at him for the first time in weeks.  
  
"Well, maybe I cared then, but it's not like I-"  
  
"Why  _wouldn't_  you care, if your fiancee married someone else?"  
  
And maybe he was provoking her because it wasn't just her heart that got broken.  
  
"Because..." She looked away.  
  
"Because you never really cared?" He said, finishing the sentence for her.  _Because you only ever agreed to marry me because I kept asking, over and over?_  But he couldn't force the words out, even as they cut through him and burned his tongue and throat.  
  
"What?" She said. "No, it was because I... because- I... because..."  
  
He waited.  
  
She hunched her shoulders and looked away.  
  
"It was always too good to be true," she whispered. "I knew it all along, that it was impossible, that any minute I was going to wake up, and I saw you standing there with Lydia and I- I knew I had been right all along."  
  
He blinked, stupidly. "Huh?"  
  
"Nobles and commoners don't mix!" She said. And then she brushed her hand against her eyes and stared in dismay at her damp fingers.  
  
"I'm crying." She choked. "Why am I crying?"  
  
"I've never seen you cry," he said, in a sort of awe. Which, okay, was maybe not the best reaction to have when seeing a girl crying and had it been anyone else he probably would've mustered a more chivalrous response. But it was Mel and it was true, he had never...  
  
"Because I don't, you idiot, crying is lame and useless and, and,  _stupid_."   
  
She sniffed mightily and brushed the dampness away, and then sniffed again and glared at him.  
  
"This is your fault."  
  
"What- what did  _I_  do?"  
  
"You married Lydia, for one."  
  
"By  _accident_!"  
  
"You should've been able to tell it wasn't me," she said, sullen.  
  
This again.  
  
"How was I supposed to be able to tell? She looked exactly like you!"  
  
"We've known each other for  _years_ , Edward! Or at least I thought we did! A stupid magic shouldn't have been enough to fool you!"  
  
"Well, I didn't!" He burst out, furious. "I didn't and afterwords I kicked myself over and over because  _of course_ there were signs, of course there were things that were off, but at the time I figured you were just nervous! I know  _I_  was, I was so nervous and happy I could barely remember how to breathe, and it wasn't like we even had a chance to talk because everything went so  _fast_!"  
  
"You still could've... you still..." She said, and her expression made him want to... hug her, or cry, or something.  
  
"I'm sorry, Mel." He said.  
  
"No, you're not," She said, infuriatingly. "Deep down inside, you're relieved, relieved that you didn't end up marrying me, relieved that it wasn't-"  
  
"Relieved?!? That I married Lydia?!? Dare I remind you what that green-haired little witch did as soon as she was coronated?"  
  
"But you never wanted to be in power anyway!" Mel cried.  
  
"What has that- That has nothing to do with  _anything_!" He said. She opened her mouth to protest, yet again, and he gave up.  
  
"Fine. Fine. You know what? You're right."  
  
"W-what?"  
  
"I  _was_  a little bit relieved when it turned out not to have really been you," he said. "And you know why? Because you- I mean Lydia, of course- were a  _horrible_  kisser! It was like a nightmare!"  
  
"I- um. I was?" She said, gaping at him.  
  
"Like a dead, floppy fish," he said, straight-faced.  
  
She stared at him. And then, very slowly, began to giggle.  
  
"A smelly one?"  
  
"Afraid so."  
  
"Toothless." She suggested.  
  
"Absolutely."  
  
"I struggle to imagine." She said, snickering.  
  
"It boggles the mind," he said, and was laughing so hard he was shaking, and  _ow_  that hurt his arm.  
  
"I was going to complain about how unfair it was that you got to kiss me when I didn't get to kiss you... but on second thought, you have my most sincere sympathies." She said.  
  
"Thank you," he said, and added- "My arm feels like it's simultaneously on fire and being crushed under an avalanche, you know."  
  
He paused.  
  
"A kiss might make it better." He suggested.  
  
"Not a chance," she said, "I guarantee you that the second I try June will come skipping in. And then she won't shut up about it for the next month."  
  
"Is that so bad?" He asked, pleadingly.  
  
"Yes." She said, shortly.  
  
"Couldn't you at least-" He said, trying to look as pitiful as possible as he glanced at the patch of ground next to him.  
  
She sighed. "Fine," she said, and sat down beside him.  
  
"I've been in love with you since we were in school together," he said, once she had gotten herself comfortable.  
  
"I know," she said, sighing. "I just... sometimes... Whatever. I'm just not used to this. It doesn't always feel real."  
  
"I would never, ever, ever choose Lydia over you, ever."  
  
"Okay, okay, I understand..."  
  
"Belf, maybe. She had a certain ogrish charm. But  _Lydia_? I'd prefer to be flayed alive, thank you very much."  
  
"I got it, Ed, I got it! Now shut up and get better, okay?"  
  
"Fine," he said, and fell asleep smiling.  
  
\---  
  
Three days later, Yvette looked up from her crossword puzzle and remembered that she had been in the middle of something.  
  
"Oh right! The humans!"  
  
Mel was not amused.

**Author's Note:**

> Omake:
> 
> June: *walks in* Oooh, I know what you're doing! You're kissing because you're attracted to each other, thanks to a combination of oxytocin, serotonin, and other key neurotransmitted chemicals!  
> Mel: *springs away from Edward*  
> June: Oh no don't mind me it's okay! You can continue if you want! *smile smile*  
> Mel: *facepalm* (to edward: ) ...I'm sorry. I just. That. Can't. Um. Maybe some other time  
> Ed: DDD=
> 
> Next day:  
> June: And then I walked in and they were kissing! I mean, I was totally okay with that, it's what happens when a prince and a spy like each other very much, I read a book about it with really embarrassing drawings!  
> Yvette: ...When will the eggs be arriving? (Yvette's grasp of basic human biology= not so good)  
> Mel: *Bright red* I'm never going anywhere near you again, Edward.


End file.
